June 27-28, 2018 -- Being a rabble-rouser for a cult leader has consequences

June 27-28, 2018 -- Being a rabble-rouser for a cult leader has consequences

One of the more prominent leaders of the cult following of Donald Trump, conspiracy monger Alex Jones, once again demonized a small restaurant, resulting in threats against its staff and property. The management and employees of the Red Hen restaurant in Lexington, Virginia had decided not to serve White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, her husband, and his parents on moral and ethical grounds. In reaction, Jones called on his listeners to "stake out" the Red Hen. Many of Jones's fans are right-wing extremists who do not hesitate to resort to armed violence against businesses targeted by Jones and his like-minded conspiracy media ilk.

In 2016, Jones advanced a preposterous conspiracy theory that Comet Ping Pong, a popular neighborhood pizza restaurant in northwest Washington, DC, harbored a secret basement where abducted children were tortured. One Jones listener, Edgar Maddison Welch, drove from North Carolina to investigate what Jones and others called "pizzagate," a lunacy-based conspiracy theory suggesting that Hillary Clinton and her 2016 campaign chairman, John Podesta, were part of a global child sex abuse ring. Welch pumped several rounds from his AR-15 assault rifle into the restaurant after he was told there was no basement and no kids to free. Jones's supporters continued to make threats against Comet Ping Pong, and a neighboring take-out pizzeria, Besta Pizza. Later, Jones issued a public apology to Comet Ping Pong's owner after being faced with legal action.

It was not Jones's only brush with defamatory slander and libel. In April 2017, Jones was sued for defamation for falsely and maliciously alleging that the Chobani yogurt company was responsible for a tuberculosis outbreak and several sexual assaults because its Twin Falls, Idaho plant had hired foreign refugees. The law suit was dropped after Jones, again, publicly apologized.

With Trump's defamatory tweet against the Red Hen, which falsely claimed that it was in a poor state of repair and had a "filthy" kitchen, Trump's cult members not only targeted the restaurant in Lexington with abusive phone calls and malicious online restaurant ratings, but also attacked any restaurant bearing the name Red Hen or a derivative of it. The Trump cultists did not care that the other Red Hens they were targeting were not affiliated, in any way, with the Lexington restaurant. Some Jones and Trump followers continued to believe, after they were informed otherwise, that the independently-owned Red Hen in Lexington had affiliates in other locations.

Trump cultists and Jones followers made death threats against the management and employees of the Red Hen, an Italian restaurant in Washington, DC's Bloomingdale neighborhood, 200 miles from Lexington. Some vandals pelted the DC restaurant with eggs.

Trump cultists also phoned some 600 threats against the Red Hen family restaurant in Swedesboro, New Jersey, 300 miles away from Lexington, Virginia. Malicious Internet users dropped the restaurant's rating and other would-be terrorists threatened to burn down the restaurant and physically harm its staff. The Red Hen restaurant in Old Saybrook, Connecticut was also on the receiving end of threatening phone calls from some of "Trump's finest."

The Olde Red Hen in Collingwood, Ontario, Canada, received calls from Americans criticizing the owner for being "liberal trash" and running a "dump."

Other Trump supporters communicated threats to the Little Red Hen in Muntinlupa City in the Philippines and the Red Hen Bakery in Middlesex, Vermont. Threats were also made against the Red Hen Bar and Grill in Napa, California.

The former owner of the Red Hen cafe outside of Atlanta began receiving threats and messages from people complaining about the food and service. There was one problem - his Red Hen closed its doors ten years ago, although it was still listed on some websites. And thanks to Alex Jones and other right-wing conspiracy theorists, Red Hen restaurants everywhere are being implicated in the non-existent "pizzagate" conspiracy, with nonsensical charges that "red hen," like "pizza," is a code word for child sex trafficking.

Stephanie Wilkinson of Henrico, Virginia, who has the same name as the owner of the Red Hen in Lexington, received phone calls from Trump cultists who referred to her as a "fucking liar," a "liberal liar," and a "communist pig." Ms. Wilkinson of Henrico told WWBT-TV in Richmond that she has never even been to Lexington.

Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) suggested that it's time for patriotic Americans to give back to right-wing extremists and Trump supporters what they so easily dish out to innocent victims of their hate crimes. We agree. And we can start with Alex Jones and his Infowars employees.

Jones operates his "media" outlet from an office park building located at 3019 Alvin Devane Boulevard, Suite 230, in Austin, Texas. An average of 41 employees work at the site, for which there is no signage indicating that it is Jones's media headquarters. Except for a few warehouse employees, Infowars staff enter and exit the office from a security system-secured door located at the far end of the office complex. [circled in red, above] Logistical employees, who handle orders for Jones's DVDs and magazines, exit from a warehouse loading dock door on the opposite side of the building's entrance. [pictured left] They usually make delivery runs to the post office and other parcel services during regular business hours. The warehouse door is often open for extended periods of time. The main TV studio from which Jones broadcasts is at the far end of the warehouse area, straight ahead, to the right.

If any group decides to protest at the Infowars office, be advised that Jones has always been paranoid about anything suspicious in the general vicinity of his building. He and his staff even believe that some high-tech companies sharing the office park, including a security alarm company, are spying on him and his operation.

Infowars employees normally order out for lunch. However, after working hours, particularly on Friday evenings, they can sometimes be found at nearby establishments, including Patsy's Cafe and the St. Elmo's Brewing Company, off East Ben White Boulevard and only a few miles from Infowars.

WMR is making this article available to the general public. Good hunting and successful protesting.

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